


estranged

by claymorejunkie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, How To Be A Horrible Mother In Ten Easy Steps written by asta, fun fact viera are super tall. runa is 5"10, tall girl. ready to hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 18:23:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19278889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/claymorejunkie/pseuds/claymorejunkie
Summary: Coincidence leads two estranged family members to meet again. And then argue.





	estranged

**Author's Note:**

> this is a ffxiv fic featuring my WoL, her mother, and two other characters i made explicitly for this that i would now do anything for.
> 
> it takes place in post 4.3 MSQ, so spoiler warning for uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Anything In That Patch or Before It, Basically

Doma had certainly taken advantage of its new access to spices since the last time she’d been there. Every dish Asta buys at the food stalls is more sublime than the last, and she is becoming increasingly sure that if she isn’t stopped, she’ll either go broke or die from overstuffing herself.

“It can’t be. It _can’t_ be. Asta?” A familiar voice calls out, and Asta turns to see the man who may save her from imminent financial turmoil. Kyosei stands before her, a Raen Au Ra man on the shorter side and a grin reaching to either side of his scaly cheeks. He’s accompanied by a Hyur woman in similar garb to his, with short, well-kept hair, contrasting the disaster of a mane on Kyosei’s head. His voice is a bit more raspy, and he wears new scars, but it’s definitely him. A dark gray hand- his right hand, she notes- rests itself on the table next to her, and Asta looks away when she notices the absence of a ring or pinky finger. Best not to think on it.

“Kyosei, it cannot _possibly_ be you,” Asta says, lips curling into a grin nearly as dumb as his. She leans back on her stool and crosses her arms, examining his new attire from top to bottom. She tilts her head to gesture at his left elbow, which rests upon an unfamiliar hilt. “The Kyosei I know would _never_ abandon his old katana. You must be an evil twin, come to bewitch me with lies.”

Kyosei averts his eyes and rubs the back of his head with his bad hand. “Me, an evil twin? You’ve read too many faerie tales, Asta. But perhaps you speak true. I often think the old Kyosei died alongside his katana when I think back on its destruction.”

The woman next to him speaks. “Every single time we tried to get him to hang it up- not throw it out, mind you, hang it up!- he would grip it with the fervor of a child with their doll.” She shrugs as Kyosei’s face turns a lovely light gray and places a hand on his shoulder. “Count on him to only give it up when it’s in pieces.”

Kyosei looks up at the stars with his big, puppy-dog eyes. “Perhaps it is you who brings bewitchment, Asta. Not a minute and you’ve already brought up such a terrible loss.” He brings down his eyes to look at her again, giving up his pouty lips for a more subdued version of his grin again. “But enough of that. By the kami, it’s really you, in the flesh! After you left for Nagxia, no one even knew what became of you! Since Doma’s liberation, it’s been no small question among our old group as to what happened to you.”

The smell of the stew Asta is eating fills her nostrils and makes no small part in contributing to the old memories and faces returning to her. “Those scoundrels? Then judging by the relative silence of this place, old Kazan must be sleeping. Unless that infernal drum of his has been broken too?”

Kyosei’s frown is deep and his eyes are pained; Asta shakes her head. “Ah. I’m sorry.”

Kyosei shakes his head. “No, you did not know. I do not begrudge you that. And he left as he would have wished. Saved a whole family.”

Asta nods. “A hero to the end.” A pause. “...Are you busy at the moment?”

“No.”

“Will you be at any time in the near future?”

* * *

 

It’s not hard to get Kyosei talking, and it’s even easier once he’s had a drink. He holds his liquor better than what would normally be expected from someone of his small stature, but Asta’s visit to his room started with the words, “Just wait until you see my cabinet”, and has not yet ended. Kyosei’s old katana lies in a wooden box in front of him (or rather, what remains of its hilt).

It’s been a rapidly-changing conversation, but Asta’s been brought up to speed by Kyosei and his friend, a Doman woman named Kaede. After Lord Kaien’s revolution had failed just a few years ago, the other Doman refugees made for Eorzea, but Asta herself had left for Nagxia. It was close to her old village, yet free of its attachments, and she’d felt useless staying in Yanxia proper without doing anything. As Kyosei talks of what happened to their friends after Asta left, of those she can see again, and then of those she cannot, she stares down into her cup. Kyosei assures her that they all went down fighting, that they died heroes, but a hero’s end is still an end. She wishes she could have helped.

Kyosei speaks up when Asta shifts her legs out from underneath her and winces. “A thousand apologies for bringing it up, but how has your leg been? I noticed you limp less than you used to. You treat your arm less tenderly as well.”

Asta nods. “They’ve improved. Enough to kick your hind end if I see you start pouring yourself another cup.” Kyosei laughs.

“I’ve heard a few things about you, Asta,” Kaede interjects. “May I ask- Is it true? You stopped a Garlean retreat by blowing up the cliff you were next to?”

Asta laughs. “They never saw it coming. A broken arm and leg are a small price to pay for a whole squad of problems being taken care of. Didn’t even have to worry about a burial.”

“Just crazy enough to work.” Kyosei shakes his head. “I only wish it hadn’t taken you from our front lines. I can think of many times I missed your uncanny aim. You were a demon with a bow.”

“Not as demonic as you with that old blade of yours.” Asta looks at his hand again. “But if we’re starting down this path, then what about you? I certainly hope whatever cur took off those fingers now has a distant relationship with his head.”

“No. I merely grazed his side. And not nearly deep enough to kill him.” Kyosei sighs heavily, shoulders drooping. “He got away. I can only hope he got what he deserved. Bastard was skilled enough to kill two others before I found him.”

Kaede nods. “With any luck, his wound got infected and he died alone in some infirmary. If not, then perhaps he recovered and stayed in Doma long enough to see his end in Lord Hien’s revolution.”

“It still doesn’t seem real,” Asta says. “Lord Kaien’s son, returning to Doma and finishing his fight. What’s he like in person?”

Kyosei laughs. “The sort of man you can tell is Kaien’s son at the smallest glance. I do believe his skill with the blade rivals even his father’s. And his sense of heroism? Kami above, you can hear his father in his voice.”

Asta smiles. “The perfect man for the job.”

“He’s done all Domans a great service since coming here, including since our liberation,” Kaede says, before downing the rest of her cup and setting it down. “His friends were no small help either.”

Asta’s eyebrows furrow just the smallest bit. “I’ve heard great things.”

“They’re all true, I assure you,” Kyosei says. “The Eorzeans did great work. Yugiri and Gosetsu certainly have an eye for talent.”

“I’m sure you’ve already heard of the one they call the Warrior of Light?” Kaede asks.

Asta shrugs. “Several times.”

Kyosei seems to look her over. “She reminds me of you, you know. Her hair’s lighter than yours, and she wears some sort of bandana on half her face. Quite shorter than you, ears not as long.” He puts his hands on his head, his wrists against his hair and his fingers together and held straight up. Viera ears. “But the ends of them are black, too. She’s got freckles, and her eyes-”

“A lot of Viera are similar,” Asta snaps. “It’s possible she may be someone from my village, maybe even a distant relative. But if she’s Eorzean, she’s far from someone I know.”

Kyosei looks a little unnerved by the outburst, but he simply nods. “I understand. You’re probably compared to her a lot by people who know of her. Apologies.”

“Think nothing of it,” Asta shrugs. “Now, tell me. You said ‘Eorzeans’. That means more than one. I’ve heard much about the fabled Warrior of Light, but what of her companions? They must be interesting.”

Kyosei starts to regale Asta with descriptions of two short Elezen twins and a Hyuran woman. Asta drinks, half-listening to the descriptions of how different the twins are once you meet them, and how the Hyur woman went on to help lead Ala Mhigo through its very own revolution with those same twins and the Warrior of Light, along with Hien himself and Doma’s forces. It’s a lovely tale, it’s useful information, and yet Asta cannot help but think of the Viera that Kyosei mentioned.

Dark violet hair, straight ears with black tips, violet eyes, freckles, and the same bloody _name_ . It’d be foolish to assume it wasn’t the same Runa she new simply because the girl had changed her last name to “Geirahod”. Despite that, it’s hard to imagine that girl had done all she’d heard of in a matter of years. Runa’s training had always been satisfactory, but nothing to brag about. Those feats- the crybaby girl who cried the first time she managed to kill a deer, defeating an elder wyrm that had plagued some kingdom for centuries? Killing The Black Wolf? Besting countless false gods? Fighting _Zenos Yae Galvus_ himself, _multiple times,_ and not only surviving but even managing to kill him in the end? None of it seems true, or even remotely plausible, but the Domans who fought alongside her and those that have returned from Eorzea talk on and on about it.

Asta’s started to regret implying she doesn’t know anything about the girl. Being the Warrior of Light’s mother would be fantastic, of course, but she’s already dug her hole, and she can only hope stepping out of it will be easier than she hopes- the problem being that appearances don’t lie, and Kyosei isn’t stupid. He’s only dull if he’s drunk, and as he starts to grab another drink, Asta makes no point in stopping him or even berating him. Her mind is too busy thinking back on what she’s heard about the girl in such a short window of time. Not only is she considered a hero, apparently the girl is one of the Enclave’s bloody _benefactors_ , donating item after bag of gil after item to help the reconstruction effort. It’s a lovely thing for her to do, of course, and Asta does not begrudge her for it, but she still would have left as soon as she found out if not for the fact that she was told the girl had left on business to Eorzea (after being involved in the death of the mad former viceroy, no less). Asta thanks the kami for the timing, if only because having to depart for Nagxia without having the time to enjoy herself even a little would have soured her mood immensely.

“Ah, but listen to me talk on and on! I want to hear about you, Asta! What have you been-” He notes the cup she’s now emptied and sighs. “Kami above, I may well have to make a run to the stalls for more liquor before we continue.”

Kaede frowns. “Or for _water_ , perhaps?”

Kyosei laughs. “Ah, for the hangover tomorrow! Of course!”

His response is the squinting of Kaede’s eyes and the furrowing of her brows. “Not what I mean, Kyosei.”

The man laughs and flicks his hand flippantly in Kaede’s direction. “Of course, of course! Hey, Asta- I’ll buy whatever fine dish or drink you set your eyes upon if you accompany me!”

Asta shakes her head. “I’ll stay here, thank you. I’ve been on my feet nearly all day.” She looks to Kaede. “And you?”

“Sure.” Kaede gets up, albeit slowly, despite the fact that she has finished but one cup on her own. “Though, when they say not to drink on an empty stomach, I don’t think they mean ‘wait until you’ve already been drinking for two and a half bells’, but someone has to keep him from emptying his wallet. I’d say his hangover will be much worse tomorrow if that gets piled on, too.”

“If you get sick, I’ll hold your hair back,” Kyosei says.

Kaede rolls her eyes. “Worry about yourself, Lion Mane.”

“So cold.” Kyosei says in a laugh, as he waits for Kaede. “Clearly we need some warm foods to thaw that icy heart, Kaede.”

“It’s pure rock, Ryo. Heat it up too much and you’ve got lava.”

“And yet again, I find myself burned!” He shakes his head. “Hey, Asta- try not to blow anything up while we’re gone, alright?”

“I don’t wish to copy Kaede’s words, but they’re just so apt. Worry about yourself, you drunk fool.”

Kyosei giggles as he shuts the paper door behind him.

* * *

 

Alisaie had been sitting at that table for quite a while, her expression stuck in a shifting cycle of scowls. She’d been in the Rising Stones day-in and day-out, waiting for any news that could pertain to Alphinaud or Thancred. Runa had observed this each day, well-aware of how Alisaie must be feeling; utterly bored but not wanting to leave for fear of missing any news.

It had taken no small amount of prodding (and a personal promise from Urianger that he would call upon them immediately upon learning of any news), but now the two of them stood in the Doman Enclave. Runa had items to donate to the ever-growing Enclave’s reconstruction plans, and she figured Alisaie could use the distraction (and the delicious food the Enclave was now trading in).

The Doman Enclave is as lively as ever, and the weather is wonderful, though Runa can note a sizable gathering of clouds in the distance.

She walks to the counter to trade in her donations and introduce Alisaie and Kozakura, and the conversation is interspersed with Runa taking something out of her bag and handing it to Kozakura.

“What a beautiful robe!” Kozakura holds up a piece of clothing that looks like a shirt with an apron sewn onto it. It doesn’t fit Runa’s tastes in the slightest, as it is neither loose armor nor a pretty dress, and she figures if she won’t use it, someone should.

“It’s from Ivalice,” Runa says, before tilting her head. “Or it’s at least of Ivalician design. I was told it’s something a chemist would wear.”

Alisaie raises an eyebrow. “Ivalician? Where in the gods’ names did you find that?”

Runa shrugs. “Have you ever heard of the Ridorana Lighthouse?”

“You’ve been to the _Ridorana Lighthouse?!_ ”

Runa blinks. “...Yeah.”

Alisaie sighs. “Gods.”

“From such a far-off place…” Kozakura nods. “If we can’t find a use for it, we’ll make fine gil selling it, I suspect. Please accept my utmost thanks for your donations, Runa.”

Runa smiles. “Don’t mention it! I’m always glad to help. It also means I don’t have to spend time putting them up in the markets, so it’s a mutually beneficial agreement! I mean, not that I wouldn’t be doing it otherwise...”

Kozakura grins. “Don’t worry. You needn’t justify anything to me.”

“Well, it seems the Kami truly are with us today!”

Runa turns around to the voice she hears, and sees an Au Ra and a Hyur approach. She recognizes them from around the Enclave, vaguely, but cannot recall their names.

The hyuran woman scoffs at her companion. “You’re a lucky man, Kyosei. Two for two.”

“Oh, hello!” Runa says, confused but optimistic as ever. “Is something the matter?”

The man called Kyosei laughs. “Nothing world-shattering, I’m sure! It’s just that I was just telling a friend of mine about you, and she’s leaving for Nagxia soon. I didn’t even know you were visiting! It must be fate!”

“He’s drunk,” the woman next to him explains. “But it certainly is unexpected, meeting two Viera in one day like this.”

“Your friend is a Viera?” Alisaie asks, curious.

Runa’s eyes light up with excitement. She hadn’t seen many Viera since leaving home, and now it’s possible that she’s about to meet a new one.

“She sure is! And now she can meet the fabled Warrior of Light in person!”

“If you’re willing, that is,” the woman adds. “You’re undoubtedly a busy woman. I wouldn’t mean to impose.”

“Don’t worry about it at all!” The Viera girl steps forward and puts her hands on her hips. “I’d love to meet your friend- Kyosei, was it?”

“Yep! I’m Kyosei, and this is Kaede!” He places a hand on his friend’s head, despite the fact he has to reach up to do so. “And the woman you’re going to meet is named Asta!”

* * *

 

Runa’s never been able to hide her reactions. She can’t help the way her visible eye widens and her ears perk up so suddenly, and Alisaie can’t help noticing. “S-She’s what?” the Viera stammers.

The one called Kaede raises an eyebrow. “You know her?”

“I- Well, um…” Runa turns to look at Alisaie, and Alisaie can tell from one glance that Kaede’s telling the truth.

“Runa?”

Kaede crosses her arms and her eyes narrow. “You do.”

Runa averts her eyes as she scratches behind an ear, and Alisaie’s seen that tic so many times now that she has no doubt Kaede is right. “Um, Kozakura.”

“Yes?” Kozakura holds the robe as she stares at Runa.

“That’s all of my donations for today. I should have more in a few weeks, maybe less. I… should go talk to this friend of Kyosei’s.”

“Don’t feel pressured to stay if you need to do something,” Kozakura says as she folds up the robe and places it on top of a nearby basket. Her posture has changed to something more solemn, completely overriding the somewhat anxious demeanor she’s held until now. “I’ve finished recording everything, anyway. There shouldn’t be anything else for you to attend to here.”

“Thanks.” Runa turns to Kyosei. “Where is she?”

“Right this way,” Kyosei says, and he points to a building in the distance as the group starts walking. “I decided to show her my room while we talked. It’s where I keep my spirits.”

“And whatever other inebriating liquid he can get his hands on,” Kaede notes. “Runa, yes? You… clearly know this Asta. And she knows you?”

Alisaie’s watching Runa’s every move now. The Viera’s hands are balled into fists. She gulps hard. “Yes. She’s my mother.”

Alisaie stops walking, as does Kaede, and Kyosei makes it a few steps before realizing everyone else isn’t following him.

Alisaie feels her own jaw drop. She looks first at Runa, then to the building ahead.

Kaede’s posture stiffens, her shoulders rising a bit. “That doesn’t bode well.”

“And why not?” Alisaie asks.

Kyosei walks back up to the group, and his jovial expression has given way to concern. “She acted like she has no idea who you are, despite the fact that the two of you bear an unmistakable similarity to each other. I described you to her and she said a lot of Viera look like her before she changed the subject.”

Kaede raises a cupped hand to her chin. “She seemed tense. Now we know why.”

Runa looks like she’s taken a battering ram to the stomach. The fist Alisaie can see is balled so tightly that the knuckles have gone white.

“It gets worse, I’m afraid.” Kyosei shakes his head. “Your mother fought in the Doman Revolution. The first one. You know this, right?”

“I knew she was going to. Then I heard she was going to Nagxia after it failed. I haven’t heard anything since then.”

Alisaie’s mind is racing a malm a second as she listens. Runa’s never taken well to discussing her blood family. It’s the one thing she won’t talk about.

“Then I’m sorry to tell you this, but I’ve been a friend of your mother’s since I joined the revolution.” Kyosei walks closer, and Alisaie strongly suspects that he’d put his hand on her shoulder if he could. “We fought side-by-side, day after day. Never did she speak of her family. She only said she’d been kicked out of her village, and nothing more. She mentioned nothing of a daughter.”

Runa nods, and Alisaie can see the tears starting to form. _Gods_.

“Thank you very much, but… I already knew that.”

It’s Kyosei’s turn to be surprised. “You did? Kami above.”

“Hold on a moment,” comes Kaede’s voice, calm and collected, with a tinge of something Alisaie can guess is anger. “It is fine to cry. This must be painful. But perhaps this is not the best place.” One glance around and it’s clear she’s right. People are starting to stare. It must be an odd sight; four people with vastly different garb standing around, with the one everyone knows as the Warrior of Light standing there in a frilly spring dress, looking like she’s about to break down in tears.

“Follow me.” Kyosei leads them past the main aetheryte and the Stalls to an enclosure with a pond with bridges crossing it, with another bridge at the far end that Alisaie can’t see past; going from how big the walls around it are, it must be wide-open.

“Asta waits in my room. We had left to get more food and drink before we found you.” Kyosei says. “She’ll get suspicious before long.”

“I’ll go entertain her, then. Tell her everything is fine.” Kaede looks to Runa. “She’s had at least one drink. I hold my liquor better than Kyosei. She doesn’t know you’re here.” Her voice gets quieter. “Not to mention… I was a spy during the occupation. She won’t suspect a thing. You three may talk as much as you wish.”

Runa shakes her head. “No, no. I should talk to her.”

“Are you sure?” Alisaie stares at that purple eye again, and it doesn’t stare back. “Make no mistake, I want to take this woman to task myself, but in this state...”

Runa wipes away the tears pooling in her eyes, and Alisaie feels... something. Around them? Around Runa? She can’t place it, but it’s unnerving. “I’ve been waiting to talk to this woman for four years. I’ve had time to think about what I’m going to say. Now I know exactly where she is, and there’s nary a malm between us. Kyosei, is it possible that anyone in the building you live in is sleeping right now?”

“It’s possible. But over that bridge-” he points to the one Alisaie can’t see over- “we should have suitable privacy.”

“Where they’re building the demesne? It’s still under construction, right?”

He nods. “It’s lunchtime, though. Nearly everyone’s on break right now- that’s part of why the Ten Thousand Stalls were so busy.”

“How well can you act around her?” Runa’s voice sounds just a little bit colder now.

Kyosei sighs. “She’d know my every tell.”

“Then it’s a shame we had an argument, Kyosei. I- we both said such horrible things.” Alisaie looks to Kaede and tilts her head. “We’ve been arguing so much lately… Sometimes, I wonder if it’s time to break it off. We started dating so long ago that I felt it was awkward to bring it up to Asta before, but… You’ve been acting so _strangely_ recently. Maybe it was the war’s end? I don’t know what to think anymore.” Kaede brushes her bangs out of her face, and the smallest glint of a tear can be seen. “Maybe… she would walk with me to the demesne? Where you can’t tell what’s on the other side of the walls until you’re over the bridge and being accosted by the daughter you’ve been avoiding?”

A blink from Kyosei, then a devilish smile. “You really should consider a career in acting, Kaede.”

“It’s really good, but… will she fall for it?” Runa asks.

Ryosei shrugs. “Are you aware of what your mother was doing when she was injured? She’s nowhere near the dullest blade in the shop, but...”

“...I hear there were explosives.”

Kyosei relays the story of Asta’s injuries in a low voice once the three stand on the other side of the gateway to the demesne, close enough to the wall and far away enough from the entrance that they won’t be seen until Kaede and Asta have crossed the threshold. There’s something bothering Alisaie as she listens, though; the more she hears about this Asta, the more odd things become. It’s hard to sort out the new information against all the non-answers and stern looks Runa has given in the past when her blood family has been brought up before. Even Krile hasn’t managed to pry anything from Runa’s lips- or if she has, she hasn’t told another soul.

There’s no time to ask about anything. The clicking of what must be Asta’s heeled shoes against the stone before the bridge clues them in to her approach before they even hear Kaede.

“He’ll just have these moments where it’s as if the war never ended. Waking up, asking me when training is supposed to start. We haven’t had training in months, now.” Kaede’s voice sounds like a perfect balance of her subdued tone with the emotional state of a worried lover that Alisae could swear she’s hearing a play. The clicking of Asta’s heels changes sound as the women start walking over the bridge. Kaede’s footsteps seem faster than normal, but Asta’s are slower, and no small measure louder, most likely thanks to the long legs and strides typical to Viera.

“Well, that’s not so odd. After years of waking up for it, it becomes part of your routine. I still have those moments back in my house in Nagxia.” Alisaie listens to the new voice intently. It’s lower-pitched than she was expecting, but her accent is nearly the same as Runa’s.

Kaede comes into view, striding forward confidently as she puts a hand to her head. “But have you seen him after he wakes? The things he says to me before the grogginess wears off..”

“Kaede, did you not fight in the war? You should know better than anyone. That’s what it does to people.”

She comes into view, and Alisaie takes it all in. The woman seems so tall compared to even Runa; her ears are longer, and her hair is a dark, muted eggplant purple with black on the ends on her hair and ears both. Her hair is wilder than Runa’s, and slightly longer; its wavy ends seem barely under control, kept back by hairclips and brushed into one long mass that reaches the middle of her back, albeit with shorter bangs on the top and sides of her head.

It’s Runa’s mother, alright, and when the three see her, Runa takes in a breath. Asta’s ears flick and she turns her head, and when she sees Runa, she stops in place, eyes as big as saucers.

“Runa?”

Runa stands tall, arms out to her sides.

“Mother.”

Asta looks to Kaede, then Kyosei, and spares a short glance at Alisaie before looking back to Runa again. She looks like a shocked deer, standing awkwardly like that. “What’s going on? Kaede? Kyosei?”

Kaede has turned around, and she walks over to the trio.

“What is the meaning of this? Why did you bring me here? You knew she was here the whole time?”

“We had not an inkling, Asta.” Kyosei rests his elbow on the hilt of his katana. “But when we made our way to the stalls, I saw the Warrior of Light and her friend. I thought I would introduce you. But it soon became clear that doing so in my room probably wouldn’t end well.”

Asta’s eyes narrow. “So you lied to me.”

“It sounds like you’re one to talk,” Alisaie cuts in, crossing her arms. “From what I’ve learned, it seems you ran off to join a revolution and never told anyone you had a daughter. Or even a family.”

Asta meets Alisaie’s angry gaze head on. Up close, Alisaie can see a familiar red diamond on her forehead under her bangs. Her freckles are similar to Runa’s, and she also has a beauty mark, but it lies to the lower left of her mouth, where Runa’s is to the left of her eye. Her purple eyes are like Runa’s, but in this moment, they hold nothing but coldness. “Watch your tone, little girl.”

“You watch yours,” Kyosei snaps, and there is not a trace of joy in his voice anymore. “You’ve got a brain. Connect the dots. That’s one of the twins I told you about. She was a part of the second revolution. You’ll afford her the respect she’s due.”

The woman rolls her eyes. “Fine. Sorry, princess.”

“ _Princess_ ?” Alisaie feels her ears turn hot. The _nerve_ of this woman. “You-”

“Do you think I was the only one who had things to hide?” the Viera interrupts. “If that is what you consider a lie, then nearly everyone in this very same enclave is guilty of it. Everyone who came to fight in the Revolution was there to help. Your past didn’t matter.”

“I’d normally agree with you.” Runa looks at her mother, then the ground. “If you had simply left the tribe and gone to Doma, there would be no issue with your story. No one could blame you.” Her fists shake. “And even now, I understand why you didn’t tell a soul. Who’d want to tell the truth if they did what you did, especially with the new surroundings, the people that didn't know your face before you came to Doma?”

Asta takes a step forward, and Alisaie does too, without thinking. “You have sure done a fine job of making it sound horrid without actually saying it.”

Runa snaps her head up. “You abandoned me.”

“I did _not_.”

“Then what do you call it?” Runa’s shoulders arch up as she puts a leg forward. “Leaving your family without saying a word, and when one of your daughters follows you to the port, stows away on your ship, follows you to Kugane because she was sick with worry, what do you do?”

Asta’s eyes narrow. “Stop, Runa.”

“You send her packing on a ship to the farthest place you can think of without enough gil for a return fare.”

“Runa, _shut it._ ” Asta steps forward again, and Kyosei walks from behind Runa to her side.

“Asta, if you’re smart, you won’t make another move and you’ll shut your mouth.”

“I don’t have to listen to this. What are you going to do, keep me here?”

“Explain it!” Runa barks, and the last time Alisaie heard Runa’s voice like that, she was yelling at Zenos himself. “Why would you _do_ that? I was fifteen! _Fifteen_!”

“I didn’t ask you to follow me.”

“So you put her on a ship when she did?” Kaede asks. Disgust is plain on her face. “You send her away instead of taking care of her.”

“I knew she’d be fine in Eorzea. Look at her. She managed to figure out I was leaving, follow me when I left, and tail me all the way to Kugane by herself. She wasn’t discovered until a day into the ship’s journey. She was clearly a capable girl.”

“You didn’t know anything about Eorzea!” Runa fumes, and the feeling Alisaie had earlier is stronger. To describe it… tense, maybe? She doesn’t know what she’s sensing, but now there’s no denying that it’s coming from Runa now. “You sent me there because it was far away.”

“It was far, yes, and from what I knew, it was _safe._ I left for Doma to _fight,_ and it was no place for you to follow me to. I couldn’t in good conscience bring you with me.”

“Safe?” Alisaie scoffs. “Safe? The calamity had happened not _four years prior_! The city-states were still recovering! They still are!”

“Then consider this: what if I hadn’t sent her?” Asta asks, putting a hand to her chin. “Let’s say I sat down in Kugane with her and never left. What about the people I saved during the first revolution? What about all that little Runa has done as your esteemed Warrior of Light?”

“Don’t you _dare_ talk like you knew what was going to happen.” The Viera’s voice is a low growl. Runa looks like she’s on the verge of screaming, and Alisaie’s having to repress that urge herself. “You can’t justify this. Don’t you dare try.”

“What do you want from me, Runa?” Asta shakes her head. “You want me to sit by for your temper tantrum? Is that it? Does my little kit need me to calm her down for a nap?”

“Asta, what in the name of the Kami has come over you?” Kyosei rubs his face, desperate. “This is no way to treat your child.”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Runa says, and she grips the sides of her dress in either hand, takes a large breath, and releases them before smoothing out whatever wrinkles she made. “But I can’t say any of this is surprising. It’s just disappointing.” Her shoulders relax, even as she seems to shake a bit. “I suppose I have just stood here and yelled at you.”

“You have a good reason to,” Kaede says. “She deserves what she’s hearing.” The hyur ignores the dirty look the older Viera shoots her.

“Again, I ask. What do you want from me? To be a family again?” Asta’s expression softens, and there’s softness there, somehow, but it doesn’t seem within reach.

“I already have a family. A big one, with lovely people. And they’re all over. Some of them live in Eorzea, in Ishgard and Limsa and Mor Dhona. Some of them are here in Doma. One of them is right beside me.” Alisaie feels Runa put a hand on her shoulder, and her chest feels like it warms up by a thousand degrees just in that moment.

“And those in the village? Back at the Skatar Range?”

“They don’t consider either of us family anymore, do they?”

“...No. They likely don’t.”

“And don’t you forget that I’m angry at you. You did something horribly selfish and terribly reckless. The only reason I knew you’d gone to Nagxia is because when the refugees from Doma came to Eorzea, I asked Yugiri if she knew of any Viera in the Resistance and described you. She said you’d left for Nagxia- and also wondered how I’d gotten to Eorzea myself, considering I was clearly your daughter, but you’d never mentioned children before.”

 _Another dot connected_ , Alisaie thinks to herself.

“But… yes, in the end, it was good that I ended up in Eorzea. And now… no, I don’t need you. I don’t want to be a family again.”

Asta’s mouth is agape before she closes it and purses her lips.

“And you’re sure.”

“They were there for me.” Runa picks up her gaze to Asta’s, staring head-on. “They can’t always join me. There are things that only I can do. But when it counts, they’re there. When I was alone in Limsa, the Rogue’s Guild gave me a place to stay. When I didn’t know what was happening to me because of the Echo, the Scions were there to help me understand it. When I came home from fighting Titan to find almost all of the Scions dead…” Alisaie listens quietly through it all, and Kaede, Kyosei, and Asta have fallen silent as well. “Alphinaud found me and we found the other Scions. When Alisaie joined us, she fought alongside us with no hesitation from day one. And after that, time and time again, whenever we were separated, we would all find each other again…

“And you were never there.”

It’s a bullet in the form of words, and Asta tries not to show she’s been hit.

“They were always there for me when they could be. No matter what. They waited for me when they couldn’t help me. When I fought the Garlean forces, when I fought Gaius van Baelsar, when I fought demons, or primals, or the Ultima Weapon, or Nidhogg, or Thordan, or Zenos yae Galvus, they were there. But you never were. I fought all that without you. I lost friends without you. I got hurt without you.”

Runa takes off the bandana Thancred gave her, and Asta’s eyes widen. There is, of course, a matching red diamond on Runa’s forehead, but it’s far from the first thing to be noticed compared to the gash. The wound is one Alisaie knows well; a vertical scar running from just below Runa’s hairline to halfway down her cheek, on the left side of her face. The scar runs through Runa’s eyelashes, and the pupil of the eye beneath looks faded and milky.

Asta’s voice is quiet. “Kami above. Your eye.”

“I lost that without you, too.”

Asta shuts her eyes and turns away.

“I was fighting a man named Ilberd Feare. He was the reason the Scions had to flee from home, and Tataru, Alphinaud and I had to go to Ishgard- he framed us for the murder of Ul’dah’s Sultana. When I fought him at Baelsar’s Wall... I suspected the Griffin was him, but I didn’t know for sure until he took off that mask. I wasn’t prepared. I knew what he would do because of the Echo, but he knew what I would do because he’d watched me fight in case he had to fight me himself some day.”

Asta hasn’t taken a step, but her ears have drooped slowly as Runa’s talked.

“He spent the whole fight tiring me out, beating me up, and then, when he got an opening, he went to bury his sword into the top of my head. If I hadn’t leaned back in time, he would have done it. But he still managed to get my eye. And do you know who showed up then? Before Ilberd could swing again?”

“Who, Runa.”

“Alphinaud. Y-” She catches herself. “Lyse. Papalymo. They fought him off. Alphinaud healed me. If he hadn’t been there, I might have bled to death before anybody could get me help. Then Thancred and Hilda showed up on an airship and got us to safety.”

“I’m happy they were able to do that, Runa.”

“Me, too. But... Papalymo never made it back. He died stopping a primal that Ilberd summoned. Shinryu.”

“...I’m sorry.”

Kyosei’s sigh is long and loud. “So much to process.”

The clicking of the heels starts up again. Asta starts onto the bridge.

“Mother?”

The clicking stops. Asta looks back, and tears stream down her face. “You’ll still call me that? Even now?”

Runa scratches an ear. “Do you not want me to?”

Asta wipes away tears. “You can call me whatever you want.” Alisaie has to repress the urge to offer up a few choice suggestions.

“Leaving already?” Kaede asks.

“Not yet. But soon, most likely. I never planned to stay here long.” Asta pushes her bangs out of her face. “Excuse me. I… need to go compose myself. Runa, I-”

Runa’s face is almost blank except for her furrowed brows. “Yes, Mo-” A pause. “...Mother?”

“If I were to send any letters… Would you reply?”

Runa’s quiet. A few seconds pass. “I don’t know.”

Asta nods and turns again.

The _click, click, click_ sounds against the wood of the bridge again. Tall, purple, black-tipped ears disappear from view.

* * *

 

As the sun begins to set, the clouds that were in the distance earlier have completed their approach and now hover above, threatening to rain. Runa and Alisaie sit at their table at the Ten Thousand stalls, now well-fed and something near content. A helper at the stalls comes to pick up their dishes, and Runa hands him some gil as thanks. The two stand and stretch, and Alisaie frowns yet again.

“Don’t look now, but your mother dearest is approaching.”

Runa turns her head, already tired. Around fifteen fulms away, Asta stops walking and stares. She looks sad and angry, and Runa hopes her face conveys how much she doesn’t care. And maybe a little of how much she does.

“What do you want?” Alisaie huffs.

“Runa.” Asta looks down at the ground, then at her daughter. Water starts to sprinkle from above.

“Yes?”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask where?”

“...Home.”

Asta runs a hand through her hair. “I see. I wish you luck, then.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m sorry.”

The sprinkling is quickly becoming rain, pattering onto the stones under their feet.

Runa starts to teleport, Alisaie with her. Asta shakes her head and starts to walk away before they finish, and as Runa’s body is pulled back to Eorzea she cannot shake how similar it feels.

Once the familiar Eorzean sky is above them, Runa sighs.

“It felt so mean, not saying anything to her.”

“So why didn’t you?” Alisaie asks.

“One of my mother’s lectures was that if you don’t have anything to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all.” She starts towards the Rising Stones. “I figured I should obey her for once.”


End file.
